


one of a trillion suns, meaningless

by viraseii



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Grief/Mourning, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, lance is the only survivor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 05:03:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14348514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viraseii/pseuds/viraseii
Summary: Keith was always an unstoppable force. Amalgamation of pure willpower, forged and tempered in the heat of the center of the universe.Keith was also fleeting.And Lance was always... just there.-Or, in which victory is the most crushing defeat and fighting a war has nothing to do with self-preservation.





	one of a trillion suns, meaningless

###### end

Lance jumps at the hand on his shoulder. He turns around to face the boy behind him, tears streaming down his cheeks. The boy of eighteen who was too good at everything. The prodigy. The one who's better than everyone else. The object of Lance's hatred, every day of every lifetime.

Until now. Lance tries to pull in a breath to steady himself, but it shakes in his throat as his lungs tremble. The hand on his shoulder is rising to his cheek, joined by its partner, thumbs wiping away Lance's mourning. "Hey," Keith whispers. His lips tug upward into a smile, finally free, his eyes finally light, arms finally open.

Even the boy who lost everything smiles at the dawn of peace.

"We won."

###### turmoil

The stars rise on every planet but dawn never breaks in Lance's heart.

###### loss

"We didn't win," Lance says softly. "We're just kids. Voltron won, but we lost."

Silence.

The holograms revolve slowly.

"What did we lose?" Keith's voice floats out to him from the darkness.

He's always everywhere and nowhere.

"Innocence."

###### tyranny

The quest for freedom is won through sacrifice.

###### ghost

"I want to eat something. Anything."

"What do you want to eat?" Keith asks, smile cloying at his lips.

Lance peers across the table at the kitchen. "Strawberries would be nice. Do you remember what strawberries taste like?"

Keith shakes his head.

Lance's eyes fall. "I don't remember what much of anything tastes like anymore."

"Well, I can remind you of at least one."

Keith leans close.

###### carnation

"Why are we here?" Lance whispers miserably.

"Why are we here?"

" _Yes,_ why are we here?"

"We're collecting-"

"No. Keith." Keith meets his eyes. "Why are we here. Why are we still here. We should be... I should be with you."

Keith's eyes crinkle in a smile as he slips one hand into Lance's. "You are with me."

Lance closes his eyes and lets himself just breathe. "I know."

###### whisper

They say the survivor talks to his brethren through the barrier that left him the last man standing. They say the survivor is not a survivor at all. He is more a victim of his past than anyone.

Lance ignores them.

###### anarchy

"We can get you to your destination in... seven months, even at warp speed."

Lance puts on a smile. Keith is lingering somewhere in the corner, smiling, hoping to go home. "That's perfect."

###### beach

Around month four Keith gets restless. "I want to go outside."

"We can when we get home," Lance whispers gently into the pillow at his side.

"I want to breathe in an atmosphere. I want to - I want to take out some enemies, I want to. I hate this... stasis. I'm in stasis. You're in stasis."

"Shhhh." Lance lifts one finger from the bed to place it back down over Keith's lips before he speaks another name. "We're not in stasis. We're moving. We've got direction."

"I keep feeling like we're still in danger," Keith whispers, terrified. "I keep feeling like any moment the alarms are going to sound. Like I need to be going on an infiltration mission, like I have to be fighting. Sometimes I wake up every hour and I try to kill the first thing that moves. Sometimes I sleep for two days."

"Hey. Keith." Lance props himself up on his elbows, chest lifting off the mattress so the cool air of his room can curl into the heat that was maintained there in between them. "We are going home. Home. The Galra are gone."

Keith nods slowly, pupils blown wide as he struggles to maintain his grip on reality. "The Galra are gone."

Lance nods. "They're gone." His eyes drift down to his fingers, and he curls them tightly into his palm. "Every last one of them."

###### extinction

Their return to Earth is eighty Earth years after their departure. Lance tracks down his niece - she's on her deathbed. He meets all the rest of his family. Gets the Garrison to sign a waiver for any legal issues he may have to deal with. He just wants to live out the rest of his miserable life.

Keith waits for him with a warm smile and open arms at home. Lance returns from his family after just one week - he doesn't belong with them. He's several generations too late.

The desert air is dry and brutal, even through the cloth pinned up to the to windows to keep out most of the dirt.

"How did you survive here for a year?" Lance mutters.

"Barely survived at all," Keith admits.

Lance curls his fingers into Keith's hair mournfully.

"What's left? Keith, what's left?"

Keith turns stands and takes Lance's hand instead, pulling him toward the door. The night outside chills Lance through to the bone.

Keith points. "The sand."

Turns his finger.

"The house."

Pulls Lance outward a little, to the corner.

"Trees."

Spins and places both hands on Lance's shoulders.

"The air."

Looks up, past Lance and into the terrifying darkness of the sky.

"And the stars."

Lance shivers. "Let's go inside."

Keith's eyes return to Lance. "Yeah. I don't want to see them either."

Every constellation is a death sentence.

###### life

"My name is Lance McClain."

"I was born in Veradero, Cuba."

"Keith is my boyfriend."

"My name is Lance Mcclain."

"I was born in Veradero, Cuba."

"I am eighteen years old."

"I'm on planet Earth."

"I'm in the Milky Way."

"I'm in l-"

"My name is Lance McClain."

"My boy-"

"My name is Lance McClain."

"I am on planet Earth."

"I was born on planet Earth."

"I was born more than eighty years ago."

"I am eighteen years old."

"The war is o...."

"..."

"My name is..."

###### death

"We should get married."

Keith smiles. "I've been waiting for that."

Lance smiles and lets him lean down to capture his lips.

###### innocence

Lance finally lets Keith go on the anniversary of his death. One year later, he finally goes out with a shovel and digs a hole under the burning sun at the base of the tree.

The ashes shift with shadows as they fall. Lance drops the container in after them and begins slowly shoveling the sand back over them.

He uses Keith's old knife to carve Keith's name and birth and death into a rock he drags over.

Keith is no longer everywhere.

He is nowhere.

Lance finally lets him go.

###### love

"My name is Lance McClain."

“I am eighteen years old.”

“I was born in Veradero, Cuba.”

"I am the only survivor of Team Voltron."

“I returned to Earth four months ago.”

"I saved the universe."

"Keith is dead."

"I am alive."

"Earth is safe."

###### beginning


End file.
